Celona Aerloc Brings Private 5G Zero Trust to OT Networks

Celona Aerloc Brings Private 5G Zero Trust to OT Networks for Industrial IoT

Unique security architecture accelerates reliable automation for industrial settings

Celona announced Aerloc, a new suite of security capabilities that provide the next generation of private 5G wireless network security for Industry 4.0. Designed to address the unique challenges of securing increasingly digitized industrial IT and OT systems, Aerloc provides enhanced security and reliable connectivity without sacrificing agility. New capabilities include extended SIM-based authentication for unified zero trust enforcement, dynamic and distributed policy enforcement, and air-gapping between IT and OT traffic running on a common private 5G network, enabled by Celona MicroSlicing.

Aerloc addresses several key concerns in Industrial IoT. Traditional IT zero trust architectures often fail in industrial settings due to the need to keep data on-premises for low latency response, the thousands of IoT devices requiring agentless authentication and the division between IT and OT networks. Celona tackles these challenges by unifying IT, OT and private 5G into a seamless solution. This convergence enables organizations to securely capture real-time data from IIoT devices so that operational and security data can be immediately analyzed and acted on, including the mitigation of cybersecurity threats.

Celona today also announced the expansion of its global channel program, now the Celona Frequency Partner Program, along with a global partnership agreement with TD SYNNEX to enable resellers and managed service providers to securely deliver private 5G services. For more information, see the announcement here. Celona Aerloc delivers the following:

SIM-based Authentication with Unified Zero Trust Enforcement for IT and OT devices eliminates the need for device-side software or agents. Celona’s open API approach provides native integration with best-in-class security services, such as firewalls, network access control (NAC) systems, and SD-WAN solutions, and is agnostic to their deployment – whether in the cloud, on-premises or in a hybrid setup. Celona Aerloc integrates with other leading enterprise security solutions, including Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR and Next Generation Firewall (NGFW), Cisco ISE, and Aruba ClearPass. Celona continues to integrate with other top-tier security vendors through its open API framework to meet evolving enterprise needs.
Dynamic and Distributed Policy Enforcement to integrate with posture assessment tools, IoT security solutions, and security orchestration automation platforms. Aerloc provides a collaborative security architecture enabling localized and responsive security policy enforcement at a granular level—down to the individual device or user – and at the very edge of the network to significantly reduce the attack surface.
Air Gap Between IT and OT Traffic using Celona MicroSlicing technology. IT and OT traffic can be securely segmented both physically and logically over the air, on the LAN and within the shared 5G LAN network. This unique intent-based segmentation of IT and OT traffic ensures the separation of critical operational data from general enterprise traffic to maintain security and performance integrity across both environments.

“Operational technology environments are challenging to secure from a connectivity perspective given the use of industrial sensors and IoT devices that are more easily compromised. 5G cellular technology provides additional encryption over 4G LTE and Wi-Fi standards, but more is needed given the growing sophistication of bad actors,” said Will Townsend, Principal Analyst, Networking & Security, Moor Insights & Strategy. “Celona Aerloc aims to address these challenges and accelerate the adoption of private 5G within the enterprise with a purpose-built, easy-to-manage, zero-trust security architecture that blends support for both IT and OT network deployments.”

“A secure, reliable, and cost-effective network is essential to our operations in industrial environments like our refineries,” said Stefan Garrard, Principal Enterprise Technology Engineer at bp. “The new Celona security features further strengthen the robust connectivity we need to address these challenges. With the ability to securely leverage the same private 5G infrastructure for both IT and OT, we are confident that this Celona enhancement will strengthen our operational integrity and drive innovation, ensuring we remain at the forefront of safe and efficient energy production.”

“Cybersecurity is one of our strongest practices, and we work with enterprise teams every day to develop and deploy bulletproof cybersecurity strategies,” said Jeremy Nelson, North American CISO, Insight. “With Aerloc, Celona is filling a critical gap between the IT and OT networks that has become more glaring as industrial organizations roll out their digital transformation programs, expanding the potential threat landscape. Celona brings us one step ahead of the game, allowing us to offer our customers an advanced private 5G solution that extends zero trust to where it’s needed most.”

"Celona Aerloc represents a significant milestone in how industrial networks are secured," said Rajeev Shah, CEO and Co-Founder of Celona. "By seamlessly integrating zero trust principles with our enterprise 5G LAN architecture, we empower organizations to confidently migrate mission-critical OT operations to private 5G while maintaining ironclad security and granular control. Aerloc eliminates the traditional trade-off between operational agility and cybersecurity, paving the way for true IT/OT convergence and all the benefits it offers.”

Source: Celona media announcement

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